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Wik and Wik Way People and Merluna Pastoral Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA)
Date:	8 February 2013
Sub Category:	Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) (Native Title Act)
Place:	Merluna Pastoral Lease, Cape York Peninsula
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State/Country:	Queensland, Australia
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	The Agreement covers about 451 sq km over part of Lot 3 on SP140870 (Merluna Pastoral Lease) approx 60 km southeast of Weipa.
Legal Status:	Registered with the National Native Title Tribunal on the Register of Indigenous Land Use Agreements on 8 February 2013.
Legal Reference:	National Native Title Tribunal File No.:QI2012/084
Subject Matter:	Access \| Native Title \| Pastoral Activities
URL:	http://www.nntt.gov.au/Indigenous-Land-Use-Agreements/Search-Registered-ILUAs/Pages/QLD_-_Registered_ILUA_-_Wik_and_Wik_Way_People_and_Merluna_Pastoral_ILUA_QI2012_084.aspx
Summary Information:
The Wik and Wik Way People and Merluna Pastoral ILUA was agreed between: - Anthony Kerindun, Victor Kuukumu Lawrence, Hogan Shortjoe and Silas Wolmby on their own behalf and on behalf of the Wik & Wik Way People; - Ngan Aak-Kunch Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC; and - Cameron Stuart Maclean and Michelle Margaret Maclean on 8 February 2013. The purpose of the area ILUA is to provide consent for a range of acts, whether or not they are 'future acts', regarding the reduction in the size of the agreement area.
Detailed Information:
Details of the Agreement The Wik and Wik Way People and Merluna Pastoral ILUA provides for the situation where a lease or part of a lease in the agreement area is: - surrendered or expires and where that area of the agreement is not intended to continue to be used for pastoral purposes or - it is transferred so that the provisions of sections 47 or 47A of the Native Title Act 1993 can be relied upon which state that prior extinguishment of native title rights can be disregarded in the case of a pastoral lease or a reserve then the agreement area shall be reduced by the area of land and waters in the agreement area to which the Lease no longer applies or to which the transfer of the Lease applies. Further the ILUA states that if all of the Native Title rights and interests in relation to part of the agreement area are validly compulsorily acquired, then the agreement area shall be reduced to the extent to which the Native Title rights and interests have been compulsorily acquired. Commencement This ILUA was registered on the 8 February 2013. Clauses 1 - 4, 7.2 and 16 - 26 of the ILUA commence on 12 September 2012. The remaining clauses of the Agreement commence on the determination date of Wik and Wik Way Native Title Claim Group v State of Queensland [2012] FCA 1096, being 11 October 2012. Native Title Provisions The NNTT extract notes that there are no statements within the Agreement of the kind which are mentioned in 24EB(1) or 24EBA(1) or (4) of the Native Title Act 1993(Cth), and so the consequences set out under these sections are not triggered by this Agreement. This means that the ILUA does not: - provide consent for the doing of any acts by non-native title parties; -effect the right of the native title parties to negotiate with non-native title parties proposing to undertake a future act; nor -validate any previous future acts. The Agreement Area is encompassed within the Determination Area established by a Consent Determination made on 11 October 2012 - Wik and Wik Way Native Title Claim Group v State of Queensland [2012] FCA 1096. Native Title in the ILUA Area The agreement area is subject to the decision of Wik and Wik Way Native Title Claim Group v State of Queensland [2012] FCA 1096. This consent determination recognised non-exclusive native title rights over 4,500 square kilometres of land and waters. The determination area comprised several separate pastoral leases known as the Watson River Lease, the Kendall River Lease, the Piccaninny Plains Lease, the Leconsfield Lease (also known as the Crystalvale Lease) and the Merluna Lease which is the subject of this area ILUA. The Wik & Wik Way People possess native title rights over more than 28,000 around Aurukun and Weipa.